The US President Donald Trump's refusal to release the Jeffrey Epstein investigation files has sparked an unexpected issue from within his own camp. Trump's party member, Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, tore into the stance, warning that the fight over the documents is cracking the very foundation of his Make America Great Again (MAGA) support base.
“Watching this actually turn into a fight has ripped MAGA apart,” Greene said at a Capitol press conference, where she stood alongside survivors of Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring who shared harrowing accounts of the abuse they suffered as teenagers, according to a Bloomberg report.
Greene, a prominent MAGA figure and long-time Trump ally, spoke just hours before the US lawmakers are set to vote on a bill requiring the Justice Department to release the Epstein files at 2 pm ET.
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Epstein files at the center of a debate now
Trump and US House Speaker Mike Johnson had opposed the measure until a majority of lawmakers signed a petition forcing the vote.
{{/usCountry}}Trump and US House Speaker Mike Johnson had opposed the measure until a majority of lawmakers signed a petition forcing the vote.
{{/usCountry}}Trump, who has long insisted he cut ties with Epstein nearly 20 years ago and knew nothing of his crimes, only last week pushed back against Republicans supporting the discharge petition.
After the petition succeeded, he reversed course on Sunday and endorsed the legislation.
He still has not released the files, calling the debate a “distraction” and pointing instead to prominent Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton, who had links to Epstein.
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‘This is one of the most destructive things to MAGA’: Greene
“I’ll tell you right now, this has been one of the most destructive things to MAGA,” Greene said, “watching the man that we supported early on, three elections, for people that stood for hours, slept in their cars to go to rallies, have fought for truth and transparency.”
US Representative Thomas Massie, a hardline conservative who has clashed with Trump before and helped drive the effort to force the files’ release, suggested the president is helping shield powerful allies.
“I believe he’s trying to protect friends and donors,” Massie said.
‘Political show vote’ for Democrats?
After the survivors’ press conference, US House Speaker Mike Johnson dismissed the bill as a “political show vote” pushed by Democrats.
He said Trump “has said quite clearly he has nothing to hide,” and added that he will support the measure but wants the US Senate to amend it to allow the administration more discretion in redacting portions of the files.
Even if the legislation becomes law, Trump could still delay release of key documents. On Friday, he ordered the Justice Department to investigate Epstein’s possible ties to prominent Democrats, an ongoing probe that could block related files from being made public, according to Massie.